The Spence School is an American all-girls

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in New York City, founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence. Spence has about 740 students, with grades K-4 representing the Lower School, 5-8 representing the

Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

, and 9-12 representing the

Upper School Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority ...

. Lower school average class sizes are 16-18 and middle and upper school average class sizes are 13–14. The student: teacher ratio is 7:1 and students of color in all grades make up approximately 33 percent of the student body. For the 2017–18 academic year, tuition and fees total $49,980 for all grades. Its sister schools are the all-girls Brearley School, the all-girls

Chapin School Chapin School is an single-sex education, all-girls independent day school on Manhattan's Upper East Side neighborhood in New York City. History Maria Bowen Chapin opened "Miss Chapin's School for Girls and Kindergarten for Boys and Girls" ...

and the all-boys Collegiate School, all in New York City. ''

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'' magazine ranked Spence ninth on its "America's Best Prep Schools" list in 2010.

History

The Spence School was founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence, who was its head for 31 years. The school's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

is (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for 'Not for school, but for life we learn'). The first building was located on New York City's West 48th Street. The school once had a boarding option, but all current girls are day students. Clara B. Spence described her school as: "A place not of mechanical instruction, but a school of character where the common requisites for all have been human feeling, a sense of humor and the spirit of intellectual and moral adventure." Spence read from Shakespeare in dramatic declamation every week. She was known for her conservative comportment and strictness, but also her devotion to women's rights. She arranged for

Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...

Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when ...

, and

George Washington Carver George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American Agricultural science, agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent bla ...

to speak at the school. Isadora Duncan taught dance classes. In a commencement address from an unknown year, Spence said that cultivating imagination was an important skill, since “sympathy, that great bond between human beings, is largely dependent on imagination—that is, upon the power of realizing the feelings and the circumstances of others so as to enable us to feel with and for them.” The school has been located on East 91st Street since 1929. In 1999, the school purchased the William Goadby Loew House at 53 E 93rd Street for use as it's Lower School building. In 2008, Spence acquired the adjoining Wanamaker-Munn townhouse on 90th street for use as it's Upper School facilities.

Academics

Spence offers a liberal arts and science curriculum, including programs in the arts and foreign languages. In a ''Worth'' magazine study, out of the 31,700 private and public high schools in the United States, Spence ranked the sixth most successful school in the country in placing its graduates in

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

and Princeton.

Notable alumnae

* Serena Altschul, broadcast journalist * Madeleine Astor, ''

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'' survivor * Maiken Baird, film producer * Frances Baldwin, artist * Edith Bouvier Beale,

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

* Georgina Bloomberg, equestrienne, daughter of

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* Doris Caesar, sculptor * Eleanor A. Campbell, physician and founder of Judson Health Center * Huguette M. Clark, artist and philanthropist * Melissa Doi, businesswoman and victim of 9/11 terrorist attacks * Lady Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton, philanthropist and anti-communist * Elisabeth C. Draper, interior decorator * Ruth Wales du Pont, socialite, philanthropist, and composer *

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, comedian * Helen Clay Frick,

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and art collector * Caroline Gorman, singer * Francine du Plessix Gray, author and literary critic * Patricia Wright Gwyn, politician and librarian * Angelia Lawrance Morrison Harris, First Lady of North Carolina *

Janet Hobhouse Janet Hobhouse (March 27, 1948 – February 1, 1991) was an American novelist, biographer and editor. She is the author of four novels, including the posthumously published ''The Furies''. Her first published work was a biography of Gertrude Ste ...

, novelist and biographer * Nancy Hopkins, molecular biologist * Jade Jagger, jewelry designer * Bonnie Jenkins, public servant * Jill Kargman, actress, writer * Jane Kim, politician * Greta Kline, singer *

Margaret Carnegie Miller Margaret Carnegie Miller (March 30, 1897 – April 11, 1990) was the only child of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and Louise Whitfield, and heiress to the Carnegie fortune. A resident of Manhattan, New York City, from 1934 to ...

, philanthropist * Alley Mills, actress *

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, actress * Sara Wiborg Murphy, socialite * Dorothy Klenke Nash, neurosurgeon *

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, actress * Mary Ellis Peltz, music critic and poet * Karen Polle, equestrian *

Marjorie Merriweather Post Marjorie Merriweather Post (March 15, 1887 – September 12, 1973) was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist. She was the daughter of C. W. Post and the owner of General Foods, General Foods Corporation. For much of Post's l ...

, philanthropist * Sally Pressman, actress * Louise Goff Reece, politician * Evette Rios, lifestyle expert * Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum, actress * Heidi Vanderbilt, actress, photographer, and writer * Natalie Mai Vitetti, socialite *

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fil ...

, actress * Electra Havemeyer Webb, arts patron * Caroline Beaumont Zachry, psychologist

Affiliated organizations

National Coalition of Girls' Schools Founded in 1991, the International Coalition of Girls' Schools (ICGS) is a non-profit membership association serving Pre-K through 12th-grade single-sex girls’ schools across the globe. It includes independent, public, charter A charter is t ...

* New York State Association of Independent Schools * New York Interschool

References

External links